Stefano Debenedetti wrote:
> Very good question, I was wondering why wouldn't this come up
> considering that one of the main goals of XForms was to improve
> accessibility, in particular by introducing new markup that was
> reducing the need for clients to deal with HTML+JS hacks and quirks.
I think the most important part here is that *developers* don't have
to deal with HTML+JS hacks. Certainly, I don't care that my browser
has to deal with a C library or graphics API to render a page when I
write HTML. In the same way, an XForms author doesn't have to deal
with Javascript as much (if at all). It doesn't matter much in the end
that the implementation is using Javascript or not.
>> /me steps aside and hopes for some good answers from the server-side
>> crowd :)
>
> Considering that the interpretation commonly given to WCAG1.0-based
> accessibility laws, at least in italy, is that you cannot provide
> functionality via script unless same functionality is provided
> without script too, I wonder how can server-side implementations
> ever comply, let alone without requiring an insane number of page
> reloads, thus completely defeating another stated goal of XForms,
> which was also helping accessibility under another aspect.
You will have to excuse my ignorance here, but it may be useful if
people in the know would help us implementors understand better
accessibility questions as they relate to XForms and script. For
example, I have to admit that we have not paid much attention to
accessiblity with Orbeon PresentationServer, but that is mainly out of
ignorance of the subject.
Generally, why would script prevent accessibility in any way? After
all, with most Ajax web apps, Javascript ends up modifying an HTML
DOM, which in the end should not be more or less accessible than
static HTML, assuming a certain number of conventions are respected.
Requirements of national laws aside, it seems to me, and please
correct me if this is an incorrect assumption, that an Ajax-based
XForms implementations, which clearly targets regular HTML browsers
like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Opera, can in theory be as
accessible as any HTML web application.
--
Orbeon - XForms Everywhere:
http://www.orbeon.com/blog/